A biography is simply the story of a life. Biographies can be just a few sentences long, or they can fill an entire book - or two.
Very short biographies tell the basic facts of someone's life and importance.
Longer biographies include that basic information of course, with a lot more detail, but they also tell a good story.
Biographers use primary and secondary sources:
Primary sources are things like letters, diaries, or newspaper accounts.
Secondary sources include other biographies, reference books, or histories that provide information about the subject of the biography.
To write a biography you should:
Select a person you are interested in
Find out the basic facts of the person's life. Start with the encyclopedia and almanac.
Think about what else you would like to know about the person, and what parts of the life you want to write most about. Some questions you might want to think about include:
What makes this person special or interesting?
What kind of effect did he or she have on the world? other people?
What are the adjectives you would most use to describe the person?
What examples from their life illustrate those qualities?
What events shaped or changed this person's life?
Did he or she overcome obstacles? Take risks? Get lucky?
Would the world be better or worse if this person hadn't lived? How and why?
Do additional research at your library or on the Internet to find information that helps you answerOption these questions and tell an interesting story.
